Easy Baked Sufganiyot {Recipe}

It’s pie time! Later this week, I’ll be making pumpkin pie, along with a chocolate pie that my 4-year-old foodie daughter requested after eating it at a friend’s house on Rosh Hashanah. I’m not sure the pie will taste as good as her friend’s grandmother’s version, but I’ll give it a go. Perhaps chocolate pie will become a Thanksgiving tradition in our house.

When I saw this month’s Recipe ReDux, however, my brain went beyond Thanksgiving.

Trimming the Table: The holiday baking season is upon us. Time to pull out all the stops. Show us the healthy holiday dessert you will be sharing with family and friends this season.

Knowing that delicious pie recipes abound, I immediately thought of favorite Hanukkah treats: sufganiyot. Sufganiyot are round donuts, typically deep-fried, filled with jelly and rolled in or topped with powdered sugar. While the whole point of latkes and sufganiyot may be to deep-fry them to commemorate the Temple oil, this sufganiyot recipe is meant to tempt the taste buds in a lighter way, without the excess fat and calories that you would get in fried donuts.

I made these tasty little treats using whole wheat flour, applesauce and all-fruit preserves. They are light and delicious. And, perfect for any kind of holiday party!

In a mixing bowl, combine yeast and warm water. Let sit for 5 minutes to dissolve.

Add sugar and next 9 ingredients (through applesauce) to yeast mixture. Using a mixer, beat until combined on low speed. Gradually add flours, scraping sides of bowl; beat on low until flour is just incorporated and dough is sticky. Cover and let rise, about 45 minutes.

Fill a pastry decorating bag or sandwich baggie with fruit spread. Cut a small hole in bag. Using an icing tip (or cut a small slit in doughnuts with knife), insert fruit spread into doughnut until doughnut puffs out. Fill all doughnuts, then roll each lightly in melted butter or margarine. Place back on baking sheet and sprinkle or sift powdered sugar on to tops of doughnuts. Makes about 30 doughnuts.